When Pigs Fly
by The Emily
Summary: She had to admit; Ino tasted good. Too good, in fact and she found herself reach her hand out to softly trace her bottom lip. 'Where her lips once were,' she thought. Shojo-ai. InoSaku.
1. Fall For You

_A/N(I'll keep it short, I promise): _I realize that I am writing a double negative story. Negative 1: It's shojo-ai(which means two girls showing their affection towards each other). Negative 2: The main characters are Ino and Sakura(just in case you forgot which selection you picked or you cannot read the two names in the upper left corner). And Ino and Sakura don't particularly have a large fan base. Meh, oh well. It's not my _first_ fanfiction, but it is my first fanfiction I bothered _submitting_. And I look and see so many either 1: shonen-ai(boys love) and 2: not enough of pairings I like xd. So I said, " Wudder hey, why not give it a go?" So here i am with my claim to fame; hope you enjoy!

(It's a chaptered story, I think that every first chapter needs to start off with a BANG)

_Disclaimer: I don't own and plot is mine._

_No I don't beg for reviews, so I'll save you the misery. Out of a favor though, I do hope you do. But this is the only time you'll see me ask._

* * *

A girl was breathing rapidly. Face flushed and eyes wide. Ragged breathes escaping from an open mouth and two pale hands franticly clutching the wall behind her. Everything she once knew, everything she held onto as a safe memory now gone. She and her had been eternal rivals. Each making sure the other's life was as miserable as can be; from name calling, to public pranks, even battling. Grabbing for attention, and flaunting what they had, that was what their past relationship had offered up for the two enemies…at least, to the girl anyway. All that was gone now, though, and unsteady hands brushed through soft pink hair. Vivid green eyes shut tight as she regained her breathing. She shifted uncomfortably from her awkward standing position. She had kissed her. It was a pretty damn good kiss too, but the problem was the fact that _she _had kissed her. And it scared the pinkette. Throwing all caution to the wind, she neither leaned into it nor pulled away, just stood there. It had been a blissful six year mending of friendship, and now it was utterly and hopelessly ruined.

She couldn't blame her blond companion though, as much as she wanted. And she wanted to hate her. Hate and despise her, feel disgusted and violated for stealing her first kiss. But then she'd begin to remember watching as two deep eyes slowly close and feel...saddened. Sorrow, even. The blue eyes would jerk open suddenly as the green eyed girl pulled away, and the teen remembered the look of hurt behind those two orbs.

She thought initially it was by accident. She knew her best friend liked men. She knew it, she just did. She _had _to have liked men. Or so she kept telling herself. She was perfect after all. What the majority of her village lacked she had: blond hair, kind blue eyes, a toned figure, a caring personality, and just...so beautiful…everything. Absolutely everything about her was beautiful. Annoyingly loud and deeply shallow, but all that was a surface act. Yamanaka Ino just _had _to be interested in men.

That didn't save her from the kiss, though. She had pulled Sakura away from the others as they were laughing, other people laughing at her hair. The young girl always received second glances and looks from people. Hell, both her and her friend do, but for different reasons. The blond beauty had people gawking at her, literally drooling. While her pink haired companion either received a nasty glare or puzzled scrutiny. So the blond dragged her friend away from another group mercilessly laughing and pointing. While receiving questions to why a girl liked her hung out with a girl like _her, _whistling to come back and leave the green eyed teen.

It was at that time while Sakura was muttering that she should leave to let her friend have fun, that Ino had crashed her lips to her's. It wasn't forceful, but it wasn't soft either. It was...Ino. The two were far away enough from the group, hidden behind an abandoned building. And if anyone dare come between them, they would have had the fury of the blond beat them senseless.

Sakura would _not _deny that it wasn't a good kiss. She even enjoyed it; that was what she was busy denying. That was why just as her friend began to deepen it she had stopped it. Fear and hurt streaking across the stunning blue eyes. The pinkette shuddered and dropped to her knees, hugging her legs. She had to admit; Ino tasted good. _Too _good, in fact and she found herself reach her hand out to softly trace her bottom lip. _Where her lips once were_, she thought.

And when she had pulled away, she dare not look into the eyes of her friend. She chose instead to turn and run. Leaving a hurt Yamanaka behind, distressed even. She and her both liked boys; boys that they will always fight over. Boys that don't care much about either of them, boys that thought they were easy, and boys that thought they could have both.

The perfect teen could not and would not fall in love with normal and plain Sakura Haruno with less-than-ordinary pink hair. It was impossible. Never – ever - would that happen. A silly thought, even. She shouldn't even _try _to think about it. And she even found herself stopping a scream against her fingertips. Never: a strong word. Her best friend liked men, so did she. Neither of them liked each other. The feelings stopped dead at friendship. The day when drop dead gorgeous Ino Yamanaka fell for simple Sakura Haruno would be the day when-

"Hey you." a blond smiled, an outstretched hand grabbing the ones on the other's lips. "I finally found you, thank heavens. Let's go back home." her eyes were dead but she nonchalantly helped her friend up from her crouching position and dragged her away with her. Deep inside Sakura knew Ino was deeply hurt, and she couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. Something happened between them during the kiss, but she still doubted everything.

The day when drop dead gorgeous Ino Yamanaka fell for simple Sakura Haruno would be the day when pigs fly.


	2. Lead The Way

_A/N:(skip if you want)_ First I need to thank everyone who has bothered reading this. I also need to give a huge thanks to the six that have reviewed(Eternal-Uchiha, Naruto-Commenter, Krokador, KaodoBAKAUchiha, Mirai No Dinurs, DreamShadower)! I'm extremely grateful for the four that already submitted this into their favorites(hope this chapter doesn't screw it up, haha). But holy cow! Nearly 200 views? While that might not be a lot for some people that simple number means so much to me.  
And because I forget what else to say I'll finish up with saying this: I love giving subtle clues. The biggest clue so far is the title. Not only is it a popular metaphor but guess which one of the Naruto character's name means pig? I just love InoSaku, so I spread their love to all! Hope you guys enjoy!

_ Disclaimer: _I don't own Naruto

* * *

She had started off leading, pulling strong and walking quickly. Firm warm hands grasped smaller pale ones in an unbreakable hold, neither ever letting go. Vivid green eyes blinked quickly as the owner stumbled and tripped trying to keep up as her friend directed the way. But as time passed and their destination came closer, the blond began losing her speed, the pinkette noted, and it was not long until she fell behind forcing the tallest of the pair to take the lead. Eventually Ino had slowed to the point where Sakura had to stop altogether.

The pinkette urged the blond to continue; to keep moving. The sun was beginning to disappear and the teen desperately wanted to stay the night indoors, but Ino simply could _not_ move more than two feet before stumbling, causing her friend to catch and steady her. Scratchy coughs and horrible sounding wheezes answered Sakura when she asked if something was wrong. Growing impatient she began to pull her companion along, hearing no complaints she kept at it. It was a wrong idea, however, as soon as the eldest girl's house was in view, the platinum haired teen collapsed, still holding her friend's hand tightly.

Waking up was a nightmare for Yamanaka Ino, she had a horrible headache and she felt empty as she noted her hand deprived of another human's touch. Opening her eyes to blinding lights did not help her head from throbbing either. Groaning, she turned her head to the side. She gasped as her green eyed friend's stare bore deeply into her, she had not expected see Sakura to look so serious, or even _see _Sakura for that matter. Her mind foggy from the effects of sleep, the blond had tried to open her mouth when the other quickly cut her off by placing a hand against her mouth. Leaning in closer, the older teen softly but forcefully asked the blond what was happening yesterday. Ino's heartbeat quickened as the small distance between them two shortened. She chuckled inwardly thinking, _will she ever learn_? Lifting a hand of her own and bringing it up to cover her friend's own mouth, she brushed the pale ones off her face with the unused one and once again held it. She closed her eyes and softly kissed the palm of her hand, leaving a shocked teen to blush madly from the indirect kiss.

After she had pulled away, the blond softly smiled and stared at their two intertwined fingers without really seeing them, lost in her thoughts. Ino grinned slightly to herself. She'd admit it, kissing Sakura Haruno was fun and she enjoyed every minute of their brief lip lock. She would do anything just for another _opportunity _to try it once again. Yet, she felt disappointed, not only in herself, but in her actions. _She_ had started the kiss, and it was the other who had run _away_. No matter how much Ino wanted to humor herself with an excuse like she was a terrible kisser, she knew that wasn't it. And she felt selfish. Not only did she want forgiveness for what she had done (done twice for that matter), but she also wanted Sakura to still remain her friend. All Ino wanted to do was stay at her friend's side to support and comfort her, talk and laugh with her, to need her, want her; she wanted the pinkette to _be _with her.

Seeing no other method of gaining the attention of the blond; Sakura gave Ino's hand a little squeeze. The other's mind quickly snapped back into reality. She blinked a few times and awkwardly gazed at the green eyed girl as if seeing her for the first time. Slowly, things began to register in the Yamanaka's mind and she realized where she was. She felt dizzy again. As the door to her room opened, she immediately decided they were too noisy and despised the sound of the opening clash against the wall, neither aiding the agonizing mental torture.

With Ino looking away, Sakura stared at the woman who had just entered and raised an eyebrow. _The two know each other_, Sakura thought when she felt the blonde's hand grasp onto her own with so much force that it caused the other's arm to shake slightly. Green eyes glared into amber ones as the woman kept walking forward, two hands holding onto each other tight and tighter. And Sakura realized; she did not want to let go no matter what might happen. Things had changed between the two girls as of the result of the kiss, for better or for worse neither knew. And Sakura felt oddly threatened with the elder woman walking towards the two of them and as her cheeks stung when two drops leaked from her eyes, she knew it didn't matter if it was good or bad. All she cared about was being with her best friend at the moment. She felt like screaming again, and she swallowed down a shout. She was unsure, but she knew more than anything that whoever this amber eyed woman was, she was going to tear the two apart. But despite the tears that escaped her eyes, she smiled. Ino might not ever tell her this, but she knew. She knew that even if the two were separated; she saw herself with the blond because if they were ever lost Yamanaka Ino would-

"Haruno Sakura?" the woman asked, addressing the pinkette. Ino flinched as Sakura nodded, unsure of what was happening. "Please wait outside. I am Tsunade, Ino's doctor. I need to run some tests on her to make sure she still okay." The woman sensed to confusion in Sakura's gaze and she quickly glanced at the blond who was facing the other way. "No, no. Ino is fine. It's just that I need to make sure that she doesn't die."

She knew that even if the two were separated; she saw herself with the blond because if they were ever lost Yamanaka Ino would lead the way.


	3. Just a Kiss

_Thank you for the reviews: Mirai No Dinurs, Krokador, KaodoBAKAUchiha, Death Sword, Mantikora, I Spaz With Pizzazz, Kibafangirl11:_

_A/N(the usual optional skip)_: Very vague chapter :3 confused? Good, keep that confusion until the next two-_final_-chapters. The explanation for Ino's behavoir is there! 4th: Ino's behavior explanation/Sakura's confusion ends! Final: Plot twist(Spoiler:)I'm trying to make it sad. I salute those who balance work and school to write their stories. I just got a working link to download Kannazuki no Miko (my love).

Secret Disclaimer: This disclaimer is a secret. I don't own Naruto… Shhhh.

* * *

She sat against the wall, arms hugging her bent legs and two fingers tracing her bottom lip. Her hand trembled slightly from the force of a tensed of fist. The corridor of the hallway she was sitting in was deathly silent to her despite the hustle and bustle of the workers and patients alike. Anyone could be screaming and she wouldn't hear them, anyone could be yelling and she wouldn't listen. She was so intent, so focused yet, she was in a daze in what could be mistaken for what most call a day dream at the same time. Her body was there, but her mind was not.

Prior to her position, she had been forced out of a room where her best friend was currently trapped in. She was not there, she was outside, she was waiting, and she was the one who _left_ her in there. The thought drove the pinkette insane. Why couldn't she have done something, anything, to stay in the room by her friend's side? She had let the woman stay in the same room with the blond, doing _something_ to her. But was really killed the insides of the teen was the look on Ino's face as she left the room. She had looked anxious, apprehensive, _scared._

_What is going on, Ino?_ The green eyed teen wondered, worry overpowering confusion. The elder woman's words, s_he doesn't die, _kept running in her head over and over. There was something the blond was clearly keeping from her. Of course she wouldn't die, why on earth would Ino die? She's young, she's happy, she's healthy. It's not logical for her to suddenly drop dead, it's not. It can't be true, it just can't. She'll live to be old, happy, healthy right? Right?

The world can be unforgiving.

Sakura's head jerked sideways as a soft thud of a door brought her out of her thoughts. She forced a small smile on her lips as the primary topic of her thoughts stared down at her, a genuine smile gracing the soft lips of the blond. As the older one scrambled up to her feet, the other neatly walked over to help and grabbed the teen's hand to pull her up and held it. Remembering their manners, the two bowed at the amber eyed woman as they walked out of the hospital doors. The doctor waved them off, a stern look visible on her features.

An awkward silence fell between the two friends not to long after they departed. The quiet atmosphere broke when Ino began to cough terribly, squeezing tightly onto the other hand intertwined with hers out of pain. Sakura quickly pulled into the other girl into an embrace to support her. After minutes of coughing into her friend's shoulder, a very audible noise was heard from the blonde's throat as her jaw tightened. She suddenly grabbed onto the other's shoulders and pushed as far as an arm's length. Brief worry flashed through green eyes as she was forcefully removed from another's contact. Fair skinned arms limply fell to the sides of their owner and platinum hair covered a downcast face while two knees buckled and a head crashed against the ground.

Things moved quickly, adrenaline can do strange things to a person, and Sakura woke with an odd presence in her arms. A definite shape and when she lifted herself up on her two arms, her mouth formed a small 'o'.

Ino was warm, the pink haired girl noted, very warm. She smiled contently as the back of her hand brushed the blond hair away from her face, dully remembering how her friend collapsed or how she was forced to carry her on her back (the girl may have been light but by no means a featherweight). She scratched away a thin red line from the corner of the other's lips, dried blood no doubt, not even remembering how it even got there. This act of course woke up the slumbering teen. Something inside the pinkette made her smile; she wished nothing more than to just stay in here beside her friend. Happiness boiled within the green eyed teen as she locked eyes with blue ones. She slowly rested her head on the other, sighing out of contentment. She now saw her friend in a completely different way; it was quite sad how she didn't even realize it.

Ino blushed madly when she saw the other. Unlike her oblivious friend, she remembered everything despite her lack of physical or mental stability from the night before. She sat upright, staring past the older girl. It wasn't right; she had told her friend _things_. How could she still look at her like _that_, with a smile on her face? Not to mention her odd behavior, if Ino didn't know any better Sakura could have been treating her like a _lover._ She tried to make herself laugh by the joke, a sad attempt at humor.

A frown formed itself on Sakura's mouth, _she's acting odd_, she thought. Only irony could play its cruel gag at the teen's statement. She lifted herself up a little more so she could sit and scooted nearer to the other on the…_bed._ Dismissing the brief questions to why she was there on the first place, she leaned in closer to the cheek of the girl with platinum hair. Her heart began racing, yet she thought that if Ino could do it, surly she would have no problem doing it as well. Besides, it was only a peck on the cheek. Not at all-

"Hey Sakura," Ino Yamanaka's voice quietly called, "do you remember anything from last night? Anything at all?" when she received no answer, she turned her head to the side to look at her friend.

Intentionally, it had been a kiss meant for one of her cheeks, though when Ino Yamanaka's head turned, Sakura Haruno's lips very chastely captured the other's mouth.


	4. Don't Just Leave

_I kindly thank my reviewers: I Spaz With Pizzazz, KaodoBAKAUchiha, Mantikora, Death Sword, Krokador, Mirai No Dinurs. :3 luff you guys!(yes, I take the time to actually type out your names by hand 'cause you're special like that)_

_A/N:(teh skippzers)_: " You only stay to break my heart, I can tell by the way you run away."- The Runaways, by Anberlin. The song I was listening to while I was writing this.

_Disclaimer: ...-insert a cleverly annoying joke here( I don't own Naruto.)_

* * *

It would be a mystery asking how long she exactly spent just sitting there glaring out of the window. She woke up this morning, _morning_, and now the sun had long since set. Strange how time passes quickly without much notice. Her body felt foreign and cold to her, the warmth of another body long gone. She was now alone, by herself in a house she now deemed as too large and spacious for one person. Thumbing her short sleeve of a shirt she had forgotten to change out of, she continued to silently kill the outside scenery with her bitter and forlorn eyes, sharp green orbs piercing the nighttime sky and two white teeth biting into thin dry lips. _She left me,_ she thought bitterly.

"You seem awfully quite, Ino," a blond woman commented while placing her hands under the running water of a sink located in a corner of a bright white room illuminated by the intense light, giving the area a heavenly glow contrasting the dark nighttime sky.

"Hm, yeah," the teen replied dully. "Happens when you're thinking about something, you know?" she sat upright, propped up against a pillow gazing at her weak reflection on a window close to her bed. She almost didn't recognize the fragile girl in a hospital gown gazing back down at her.

Shaking off excessive water from her hands, the older woman turned around to face the platinum blond. "That girl right? You're talking about the girl; the one from earlier, correct?"

"No."

_Yes._

"Then what's on your mind?"

"Nothing important."

_Sakura._

"No regrets then?"

"None."

_Everything._

"Ah, well, you're a brave girl, InoYamanaka." The doctor smiled. "Ah! What I mean is that most people aren't as carefree as you when it comes down to the line, you know? I mean, you don't have an ounce of distress on your mind, it seems." She quickly added after seeing a bewildered look upon the teen.

"Yeah Tsunade-sama, but then one starts to realize that being able to know so many great people and living life itself is rewarding enough to die happily." She sighed and gently rested her head on the cool windowpane, her breath fogging a small shape. _Plus, I was able to spend more time with Sakura. Even if only a little and even if spent screaming at towards each other, that's enough for me,_ the blond smiled, closing her eyes.

"_What the hell, Ino" a green eyed girl snapped. "Why did you go ahead and slap me you—."_

"_Shut up!" The other yelled back. "Don't you ever think you can talk to me like that after you just kissed me! You didn't even ask if you could."_

"_Then the same rule applies to you, pig." The older girl retorted harshly, turning her head the other way._

_The blond flinched, _that's not the problem Sakura. _" Aren't we a little too old to be calling each other those childish names. Hm?" she said, feigning annoyance._

_Ino stood before the pinkette, arms crossed and brows creased, looking intensely at her friend who was looking the other way. A pale hand covered a deep crimson mark against fair skin. _

"_Why'd you do it, Ino?" she quietly asked. "Why?"_

"_W-what? Do what?" _

"_You kissed me before. Twice. Why? That's all I want to know, that's all." A feeling of moroseness edged into her voice and a sour atmosphere surrounded the room, threatening to strangle the two teens._

"_It was a joke…fooled you didn't I? You…you should've seen your face, priceless." Ino lightly whispered. She sniffed and her friend quickly looked up, concern showing on her face. _

Why am I crying?_ She thought as a tear a leaked freely from her closed eye. She turned her head, rubbing her two eyes with the palms of her hands, the blond fell on her knees. She quickly slapped the pale hand belonging to her friend away when the pinkette reached out. You always push me away, Ino. When I try to come near...you always run away. I wonder; do you only stay to break my heart? _

Rubbing her temples, Ino scooted back further into the hospital bed allowing the doctor to pull off the sheets. Despite her circumstances, Ino felt oddly calm. In her younger days she always threw tantrum, yelling and screaming to let her go. It was because back then she knew what was happening around her and she was scared to let the world go. But more importantly it was at that time when she and the pinkette were the closest of friends and of all things; she was the one she was the most scared to lose. Her parents and doctors separated them for a long time; she wanted nothing more than just to spend time with her childhood friend now. The blonde's demeanor now eerily calm, she swung her legs over the side and took an odd liking to the waxed floors as the older woman gently held up a clear glass tube, held by the index and middle finger of her right hand, to eye level and lightly flicked it with her pointer finger while pressing down a short shaft on the other end causing semi-clear liquid to suddenly squirt out.

"So, Ino, are you ready?" the doctor softly asked. The other nodded after a slight hesitation. Were things okay the way they were between her pink haired friend and herself? After their fight is everything still worth what she had previously thought? _She didn't call after me_, Yamanaka thought, _could she really hate me for what I did? Sakura, it was…not how I intended it to be._

Ino closed her eyes, pushing her thoughts away, as the blond woman strode closer and closer, the medical device held firmly in her hand. The platinum haired teen knowingly stretched out her arm as Tsunade gripped it tightly with her left hand.

"Have you accepted your fate?" the doctor inquired one more time. This time, Ino responded almost immediately.

"Yes." She assured just as her fair skin was pierced by the tip of the syringe.

xxxXXXxxx

"_You're crying, Ino."_

"_I'm not. I'm not. I'm not!" she screamed trying to wipe the tears off her face. "I told you, it was a joke, for laughs."_

_The green eyed teen remained on her bed, seated, as she watched her best friend pathetically smudge the wet trails across her cheeks, chin, eyes, and even mouth in a desperate attempt to rid the tears faster than they formed. Slowly, her two hands began to bunch up the sheets, her arms shaking from the amount of pressure she used in an endeavor to control her anger. _I'm a joke? A _joke_? Messing with my feelings is not a _joke_, Ino. _Sakura's beliefs quickly changing from that of a concerned friend, to a livid teen._

"_Listen you little swine, I have no clue _why_ you're crying, and frankly, I don't care. But pay attention, you're feelings aren't the only one that matters, Yamanaka. I have no clue as to what is going on around here, but leave and get out if you're going to act like the same self absorbed brat from six years ago. You are not the same person I thought I liked, but you sure as hell did some damn good acting," The pinkette hissed out._

_The unshed tears still shined within pale blue eyes as blink after blink consumed the time and Ino found herself on her feet, vaguely remembering when she had collapsed. Feeling something rising in her throat, she swallowed lightly and clenched her jaw from preventing a cough from escaping. She quietly made her way from the edge of the bed in the corner of the small room to the door, while two eyes watched with grief and anger and the owner turned herself to face the window in the opposite direction._

_She saw a dim reflection of her blond companion hesitate at the door and mutter something. At once she snapped her head around to see Ino smiling back at her as she walked out before Sakura could say, "no"._

xxxXXXxxx

Still, from time to time, Sakura found herself looking over her shoulders as if to turn back that moment in time and change the events that had happened. The groaned from annoyance at her own stupidity as she rested her chin on the small groove made by her knees. It was too late, all too late.

"_I've come to terms with my feelings…my fate...and I... I can die happy, Sakura. I can, I really can. Because, I know now, we're the same. Our feelings…they're mutual."_


	5. How This Ends

_I thank my reviewers for the final time: I Spaz with Pizzazz, Death Sword, X-Charcoal-Moon-X, Vanessa Riverton_

A/N(skip for the final time) Wrapping up the conclusion for my little angst slice-of-life fic. And for the note of the deadly disease (if you don't mind spoilers): Ino has –extreme- Hemophilia, which makes you bleed _a lot_ out of your orifices (though realistically, not randomly. hehe, it's more interesting this way, though). Normally, people with mild cases and lead a normal, careful, life. But for the more extreme (rare) cases, medical procedures must be taken (hormone shots, hormone pills, blah). See the connection of random coughing up blood from Ino and the odd injection from Tsunade now? Okay then.

This disclaimer will now self-destructuct in 5…4…3…2…1… (Pkshyyuuuuuuuuuuu… Don't own Naruto)

_by the way, the story not italicized is what's in the present else explains where the story left off. _

_(Because I came back to revise all the chapters I can now do this: thank you to all my current chapter 5 reviewers: Death Sword, I Spazz With Pizzazz, Bonnie Taylor Shakedown, Vanessa Riverton, aarticinferno)_

* * *

Honestly, how long was she going to make her wait? Dressed in a fitting jacket and drainpipes, a scarf tucked neatly underneath her chin, a teen uninterestingly waited while leaning against wall outside of a store. As bored as she was, she smiled. She was content and happy; happiest she had ever been, she thought, and she didn't care about the odd stares passing her way as she suddenly went from a deep and menacingly cold frown to a cheery grin. Obviously thinking the girl had lost her sanity.

But she banged her head against the wall, running out of things to do to keep her busy. Standing in the middle of a crowded street in dead winter didn't help much either. Just as a small cloud formed below her mouth from an exhaled sigh and her head pounded from the constant collision with the wall, a melody filled her ears.

"Haruno Sakura!" a voice rang. "Sorry if I made you wait long. I couldn't decide on which one to get."

Sakura smiled. "So, can I look and see what you bought?"

"No way, lady. The holidays are in a few weeks. You're just going to have to wait until them, so nya!" her friend played, sticking her tongue out and touching her nose with her thumb while wiggling her fingers. The green eyed teen grabbed the other's hand from her face and held it. She pulled her friend along with her and after they established a steady walking pace, Sakura placed their intertwined fingers in the front pocket of her jacket. Silence passed over them, but neither minded as the pinkette looked down at her partner's rhythmic breathes. The puff of miniature clouds appearing before they could disappear interesting her.

The two were close enough to each other (excluding the fact that Sakura put both their hands in her pocket) that each could be another layer of clothing. She sighed contently as the porcelain skinned doll next to her tried closing a nonexistent gap between them, almost laughing out loud from the almost childlike cuteness she possessed. As they trudged home in the ankle deep snow, the green eyed teen thought back to almost a year ago, a completely different person.

"Fat penguin," the younger girl next to her suddenly burst out.

"What?" chuckled Haruno.

"Nothing," she grinned. "You were killing me with the silence. I wanted to say something."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at her reasoning. It seemed as if all her days have been filled with bliss and she couldn't possibly be any more pleased then spending her days wherever the blond was.

Turning her head quickly so that the shorter girl was startled, Sakura Haruno seized the moment to bring her lips to lightly peck the two rose colored ones beside her.

"Happy holidays, Ino."

* * *

Its dark,_ Sakura thought, _it's dark and I can't see. I can't breathe and my heart hurts…it hurts._ It was the break of dawn and as much as the pinkette tossed and turned the entire night, she could not fall asleep. She ended up in the same position she had been before she tried the impossible task of falling asleep. _

_Though her arms began to weaken and her legs stiffened with numbness, she didn't care. She was an eternal living statue but she did not know _why_. Guilt unconsciously escaping from the deep recesses of her mind making her shift from the uncomfortable unknown thoughts. She had been in a bitter mood ever since a certain girl had walked out of her room and inevitably; her life. _

_She had undoubtedly made a mistake and as her alarm rang an annoying tune, aggravating enough to drive one mad, she quickly walked over to unplug the cord, misjudging the distance and tripping over it instead. Cursing the air, she rose and kicked the plug off the socket and grabbed a jacket and a pair of clean jeans off the cluttered ground and ran out of her room. In a rushed process to see her friend; she had forgotten her shoes._

* * *

I have to stay awake,_ thought a blond. She tried to maintain a focus on the heart machine, monitoring the beats in a sound aggravating enough to drive one mad. Annoying as it was, it was the only thing keeping her up. It became harder as her eyes closed and the ringing faded but she tried her hardest and looked up at the bright lights of the hospital room. If she fell asleep, the drugs would not take effect, and that was something she did not want. Though, the affects of the numerous amounts of pills she had to consume was doing their job at making her drowsy, due to years of hospital avoidance; she did not regret her past one bit._

"_It doesn't matter", she wearily said aloud to no one. "It doesn't matter anymore, does it? She's mad at me…right? She hates me now and I ruined it. And we could have remained friends, I didn't have to ruin it, and we wouldn't have had to scream and yell at each other, and we could've spent the rest of our lives together, and I wouldn't have kissed her, and…" she quickly shut her eyes and the unshed tears cascaded down like the excess water spilling over from a dammed river. She grabbed her mouth with one of her hands with as much force as to tear it off, her bed shaking as tremors ran through her weak body and spasm after spasm danced inside her. She threw her free hand on top of the one already covering her mouth in an attempt to not cry out and an added defense against the trickling blood that was all too happy to seep out. The light green lines skipping wildly against its darker background like a frenzied waltz dancing to the tune of flurried melody of an individual's increased heartbeat. She tried her best to hold her mouth, the red fluid already dripping down her arms and staining the pure sheets. She remembered darkness as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and crimson dyed fingers gripped the blankets before she tossed around the bed a final time._

"_Just look at your feet!" a woman with a look contrasting her age quickly shouted in the lobby of a hospital. "All torn up and bruised. Why didn't you wear a pair of shoes, for goodness sake?"_

"_I-I was in a hurry. I wanted to see-" a teen tried replying but the other interjected._

"_You were in a hurry? I'm sorry, did I hear wrong? You were in a hurry to even put on some shoes? Just ten seconds of your time were that important? You didn't even have to bother with socks! Blisters are a hell of a lot better than those cuts you have." She exhaled deeply, rubbing her temples. "Anyway, why are you even here? What made you get out of your house, without any shoes, might I add, and run all the way over to the hospital. Last I checked, Haruno, your place isn't anywhere near here."_

"_I don't care," Sakura stated almost immediately. "Ino could do it. She ran here. I thought- no, I knew I could too. I came to see her."_

_The doctor clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth._

"_What or who, god forbid, made you think you have the authority to prance in here looking as if you ran away from mental ward at this time of day, demanding that you be let see one of our worst patients."_

_Ignoring the subtle insult, the green eyed teen scowled and looked at her elder in the eyes, "Because earlier, I wasn't able to fully reciprocate my feelings…because now, our feelings are the same."_

_She felt as if she was going to die. How stupid was she not to return her feelings sooner. No, things would have ended up differently. Ino Yamanaka might have never come to the hospital if Sakura had accepted her before, she might not have ever told her how gravely sick she was. She might have lost her life, and Haruno Sakura did not want the blond to die. _

Then…is it fate that has directed the events that had led me here? _The pinkette questioned._

_Her hand was trembling, her palm moistening with nervous sweat as it floated above the shinned doorknob. She longed for the conversation of the blond porcelain doll but as opportunity was held in front of her, she felt as if she could not do it._

_Tsunade had told her that Ino was not ready after the woman had an emergency call and was rushed out of sight to a door the teen did not know where. She remembered sitting there in the waiting room, her mind choosing then to become suddenly self conscious and aware of what she had worn to the public. Sleep accompanied soon after and her eyes closed with a feeling to that of a great gate shutting after years of misuse. She woke when her head jerked forward quickly and she forgot where she was, the heavy white blanket covering her not helping. She looked around, eyeing her surroundings; a room that did not belong to her. _

_Sakura rubbed her forehead and cast the glowing cover off her lower half, a sight surprise soon caught her attention. Her feet were bound in bandages. _The old woman_, she concluded as the one who had treated her feet. The damage was apparently worse than she had originally thought. She was in a different outfit than what she had arrived in and with that knowledge, she did not know whether to be grateful for the change of clothes or livid at the thought the doctor did not like the way she dressed. Whatever the case, she hopped off the bed and walked out of the room. It was there where she heard the blond doctor speak about a certain person's condition. She thought it unfortunate how such a fatal and life hindering disease could be on a person. She soon heard the name Ino be uttered, and she fell on her knees. _

_And the teen recollected on all those things as she stood in front of the door representing both fear and joy. Tsunade gave an okay to come and see her best friend, but how are things to be the same? She was dying, no matter what the doctors said, in Sakura's mind Ino was…dying. _

_She knocked once, twice and then entered. She slowly swung the door. Near a wide window at the back of the expansive room, countless equipment was scattered around a large bed and a doctor she did not recognize sat near a pale still figure who could be only one person in the world._

"_Ino!" she cried out and ran the short distance from the door to the bed. "Why is she…what happened?" she asked the unknown person, noting a faint red tint near the base of her friend's hand._

"_Last night she…had a seizure and while she had the convulsions, she began to lose blood again. Despite the drugs and injections we gave her. You've seen Ino cough up blood or randomly bleed profusely, correct?" the teen nodded and the doctor began again. "Well yes, due to Ino having hemophilia, when blood cannot clot therefore excessive bleeding occurs, she has to constantly take a hormone depression from injections or drugs or else it could prove fatal or even death. But, even though she has skipped six years of treatment and her bleeding has gotten worse, she still can live. As a doctor, I don't believe in things like miracles, but your friend truly is a miracle. Usually the chances of one surviving as long as she has are impossible. Though, she did it. She beat the odds, and proved the impossible. She-" the talkative man quickly shut his mouth as he saw Sakura sit on her knees and bury her head into the blonde's hand she had intertwined with her own._

"_Ino, I'm sorry," Sakura sobbed. "I didn't want to fight with you. I just didn't believe. You could have never fallen for me. You were the better one, always. I was the one who always looked up to you. I never believed that one day the most gorgeous, talented person I know would show her feelings towards me. I couldn't believe it. You make me happy, Ino, you can't go. Not now, not ever. You just can't leave me here like me. I'm sorry, I should have told you the same sooner, but I couldn't admit it. But…you…helped me. Yes, I, Sakura Haruno, am in love with you, Ino Yamanaka. But, it can't happen now, can it? I wasn't able to reciprocate my feelings in time… and…I understand now, what they mean when they say, 'when pigs fly' because, Ino. You have wings now, and you can fly off to wherever people believe is eternal happiness, and when that happens I'll be happy too because-"_

_Sakura stopped her heartrending rant as she felt a small pressure on her hand. The pink head jolted up and her eyes grew as more tears sprang out of their homes from euphoria. And she heard words she thought she'd never hear again._

"_Shut up, forehead, I love you too."_


End file.
